Teufelsberg is a man-made hill, created in the 20 years following the Second World War by moving approximately 75,000,000 m3 (98,000,000 cu yd) of debris from Berlin.
After the Communist putsch in the city parliament of Greater Berlin (for all four sectors of Berlin) in September 1948, separate parliaments and magistrates (German: Magistrat von Groß-Berlin; city government) were formed for East and West Berlin. This also ended much of the cooperation between West Berlin and the state of Brandenburg, surrounding West Berlin in the North, West and South.
While part of the rubble from destroyed quarters in East Berlin was deposited outside the city boundary, all the debris from West Berlin had to be dumped within the western boundary. Due to the shortage of fuel in West Berlin, the rubble transport stopped during the Berlin Blockade.
Although there are many similar man-made rubble mounds in Germany (see Schuttberg) and other war-torn cities of Europe, Teufelsberg is unique in that the never completed Nazi military-technical college (Wehrtechnische Fakultät) designed by Albert Speer is buried beneath. The Allies tried using explosives to demolish the school, but it was so sturdy that covering it with debris turned out to be easier. In June 1950 the West Berlin Magistrate decided to open a new rubble disposal on that site. The disposal was planned for 12,000,000 m3 (16,000,000 cu yd).
While part of the rubble from destroyed quarters in East Berlin was deposited outside the city boundary, all the debris from West Berlin had to be dumped within the western boundary. Due to the shortage of fuel in West Berlin, the rubble transport stopped during the Berlin Blockade.
With the end of material shortages after the blockade, an average of 600 trucks deposited 6,800 m3 (8,900 cu yd) of material daily. On 14 November 1957, the ten millionth cubic metre arrived. The site was closed to dumping in 1972, leaving approximately 26,000,000 m3 (34,000,000 cu yd) of debris, and to a lesser extent construction waste. The Senate of Berlin (West) opted to plant greenery on the hill as a beautification project.
Teufelsberg was originally thought to be 115 metres (377 ft) high, which placed it at the same elevation as (Großer Müggelberg, cf. Müggelberge), and was the highest point in West Berlin. New measurements show that Teufelsberg is actually 120.1 metres (394 ft) high, making it higher than Großer Müggelberg.
In February 1955, a 24 m long (79 ft) ski jump opened on the hill, designed by the ski jumper and architect Heini Klopfer. A larger ski jump opened March 4, 1962, offering space for 5,000 spectators. Ski jumping ceased in 1969, allowing the ski jumps to fall into decay. The jumps were removed in 1999.
Teufelsberg has been a location for several recent movies and television programmes, such as The Gamblers, Covert Affairs (2nd season episode titled "Uberlin") and We Are the Night in which the finale takes place on Teufelsberg.
As in the whole of Grunewald Forest, wild boar frequently roam the hill.
